Collection means for a coin box



June 18, 1963 A. PINSON ETAL 3,094,275

, COLLECTION MEANS FOR .A' com 302:

Filed Dec. 271.. 1960 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG.2 FIG. 3

INV TORS y i11- MYM FIG. 5

June 18, 1963 A. PINSON ETAL COLLECTION MEANS FOR A COIN BOX Filed D80- 21. 1960 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 iNVgTORS m BY W11 M WyM June 18, 1963 3,094,275

, A. PINSON ETAL COLLECTION MEANS FOR A COIN BOX Filed Dec. 21. 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 I I 1% [:IN TOR5 13y Maw/7 nrraewfyg June 18, 1963 A. PINSON ETAL COLLECTION MEANS FOR A COIN BOX Filed Dec. 21. 1950 v 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 WKM ATTOEA/EYS Julie 18, 1963 A. PINSON ETAL r 3,094,275

CQLLECTION MEANS FOR A com Box Filed Dec. 21. 1960 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INV TOR5 United States Patent 3,094,275 COLLECTION MEANS FOR A COIN BOX Abraham Pinsou, New Rochelle, and Bernard Stoudt, Elmont, N.Y.; said Stoudt assiguor to said Pinson Filed Dec. 21, 1960, Ser. No. 77,396 3 Claims. (Cl. 232-16) This invention relates generally to an improved means for restricting the opening of sliding receptacles to authorized personnel equipped with special tools and is particularly concerned with coin box closures such as are employed in connection with parking meters, vending machines, turnstile and the like.

Heretoiore, it has been found desirable to incorporate in such coin box closures adequate locking means for preventing access thereto by unauthorized persons. At the same time, it has also been deemed desirable that the said locking means be such as to permit convenient access to the coin box closure by authorized persons. The latter requirement is of great importance since the authorized persons who collect the revenue in the coin box closures must service a large quantity of such devices. Moreover, it should be noted that the quantity of personnel necessary for the operation of such coin box closures is also determined by the nature and extent of the maintenance required by the apparatus and the necessity of accomplishing the collection of funds received therein.

It is in connection with these maintenance and collection problems that many existing difficulties have been encountered. Thus, by reason of the complexity of the mechanism employed in conventional equipment it is subject to frequent jamming and consequent inoperativeness, thereby requiring the attention of skilled repairmen and, in many cases, specialized repair tools.

Moreover, a great deal of conventional coin box closure equipment is subject to breakage by reason of vandalism and theft, again requiring appropriate repair and maintenance facilities and the necessary accompanying personnel. Such problems, of course, increase when there is an increase in the amounts of money which are customarily retained by such devices, thereby necessitating remedies in the dorm of close surveillance of the equipment or frequent collection of the revenue contained therein. Furthermore, access to the contents of the devices presents a constant temptation to theft on the part of the personnel employed for the purpose of making such collections.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a coin box closure which employs an inherently simple mechanism for the reception, retention and safeguarding of coins received therein.

Another object of the invention is to pnovide such a coin box closure which requires only a minimum of maintenance and which is of sufficiently strong constnuction to discourage attempts at theft and vandalism.

Another object of the invention is to provide a coin box closure which is easily opened for coin removal purposes by authorized personnel and which requires a minimum of time to accomplish such opening.

A further object of the invention is to provide a coin box closure which permits authorized personnel to empty the coins accumulated therein into conventional coin storage equipment without aifording such personnel direct access to said coins.

A further object of the invention is to provide a coin box closure which may be opened only with the assistance of an improved specialized tool.

A 'further object of the invention is to provide a coin box closure which is resistant to jamming and simple in design.

ice

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a coin receiving apparatus wherein the coins are normally locked securely therein by a resilient locking device which is only releasable .by a special tool which applies predetermined pressures to portions of the locking device external of the coin receiving apparatus whereby only authorized persons can have access to the coins.

Further objects and inventive details will become more apparent from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a .front elevational view of one form of the coin box closure of the present invention, said coin box closure being employed in conjunction with a parking meter;

FIGURE 2 is a right side view of the coin box closure depicted in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is an elevational view taken about the lines 3-3 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional view taken about the lines 4-4 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 5 is a cross-sectional view taken about the lines 5-5 of FIGURE 1 and showing in partial crossscction one form of the specialized tool employed in conjunction with the coin box closure depicted therein;

FIGURE 6 is a cross-sectional view taken about the lines 6-6 of FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 7 is a cross-sectional view taken about the lines 7-7 of FIGURE 6 and showing the door of the coin box closure in a closed position; 7 I

FIGURE 8 is a view similar to that shown in FIG- URE 7 but showing the door of the coin box closure in an open position;

FIGURE 9 is a fragmentary perspective view depicting portions of the door operating mechanism of the coin box closure;

FIGURE 10 is a cross sectional view taken about the lines 10-10 of FIGURE 5 and depicting one form of mechanism employed for rotating the coin box within said coin box closure;

FIGURE 11 is a cross-sectional view taken about the lines 11-11 of FIGURE 10;

FIGURE 12 is a fragmentary perspective view of the cam followers and cams employed within the coin box closure; 1

FIGURE 13 is a cross-sectional view taken about the lines 13-13of FIGURE 10;

FIGURE 14 is a cross-sectional view taken about the lines 14-14 of FIGURE 10 and showing the coin box and said form of mechanism for rotating same in a closed position;

FIGURE 15 is a view similar to that of FIGURE 14 but showing the coin box and the mechanism for rotatin-g same in an open position;

FIGURE 16 is a cross-sectional view taken about the lines 16-16 of FIGURE 10;

FIGURE 17 is a cross-sectional view taken about the lines 17-17 of FIGURE 10;

FIGURE 18 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of the upper end portion of the mechanism for rotating the coin box and the mating portions of such mechanism; and

FIGURE 19 is an exploded perspective view of the various elements comprised within FIGURE 18.

As shown in the accompanying drawings, the present invention may be employed in conjunction with a parking meter of conventional design and generally designated by the numenal 29. The coin box closure employed in the present invention and generally designated by the numeral 21 may also be mounted at a suitable elevation upon a post 22 so as to permit ease of opera- 3 tion and easy visibility of any scale which may be disposed within the window 23 of the parking mete-r.

One arrangement of the coin box closure employed in the present invention comprises a generally rectangular housing 24 provided with means for reception of coins, such as the boss 25 formed with the vertical slot 26. This slot communicates with a chamber 27 defined by one of the internal surfaces 28 of the housing and a plurality of sloping walls 29, 3%), the latter being provided with a flange 31 which may be fastened to the upper portion of the housing by a. suitable screw 32.

The lower portion of the chamber is open and disposed above an inclined tube or coin box 33 which abuts against opposing internal surfaces 28, 34 of the housing and is also secured against displacement within the housing by one or more pins 35 fastened to the lower portion of the inclined tube and received within one or more apertures 36 formed in the base of the housing. In addition, the inclined tube 33 is supported by one or more horizontal plates 37 welded to the tube and provided with a plurality of apertures 38 through which bolts 39 extend to secure said horizontal plates to the flanges of one or more vertical supports 40 mounted on the internal surface 41 of the base of the housing and abutting against the internal surfaces 42, 43 of opposite side portions thereof. In this manner, the inclined tube is secured against distortion and angular and linear displacement with respect to the housing.

The inclined tube is also provided with a lug 44 through which projects a pin 45. Said pin is received within apertures 46 formed in vertical plates 47 or wings integral with a door 48 disposed within a rectangular aperture 49 formed in the front wall of the housing.

As may be seen from an examination of FIGURE 4, the door is pivoted on the pin 4-5 so as to be swingable to the open and closed positions depicted in broken lines in said figure. Each of the lower edges 50 of the vertical plates or wings describes a circular are about the center of the aforesaid pin 45. The periphery of this are is interrupted by an arcuate notch 51.

An important feature of the present invention resides in the means for accomplishing the opening and closing of the aforesaid door. This means may be best understood by taking particular note of the structures depicted in FIGURES 1-9. As seen in these figures, the housing is provided with a pair of bushings 52, 53. These bushings slidably receive a pair of shafts 54, 55 which are provided with expanded annular portions 56, 57 contactable with annular shoulders 58, 59 formed in the bores of said bushings. Each of said shafts is also provided with a disc-like annular portion 60, 61 of a diameter less than the first mentioned expanded annular portions. On each side of said disc-like annular portion there extends a reduced cylindrical portion 62, 63 so as to connect the expanded annular and disc-like portions on each shaft and to provide cylindrical projections 62a, 63a within the interior of the housing. A plate 64 extends from the internal surface 41 of the base of the housing into supporting contact with the external periphery of the tube 33; and a pair of coiled compression springs 65, 66 are biased against said plate and the faces 67, 68 of the disc-like annular portions 60, 61 of the shafts 54, 55, the said shafts being urged against the aforesaid annular shoulders 58, 59 of the bushings. The springs are preferably of different compressive strengths and permit axial displacement of the shafts when the latter are subjected to suitable external forces in the manner hereinafter described, the springs being secured upon said shafts during such displacement by the aforesaid cylindrical projections 62a, 63a which also function as guides for the springs.

The expanded annular portion 57 of shaft 55 is provided with a keyway 69 which receives a square key 70, the latter also being slidably engaged with a block 71 having a bore 72 receiving said expanded annular portion 57. The key permits axial displacement of the shaft with respect to the block but does not permit angular displacement of said members with respect to each other. The block is in rotatably slidable contact with the end face 53a of the bushing 53 and is provided with a slot 73 which receives a link, generally designated by the numeral 74. One end portion 75 of this link is received within the slot 73 and retained therein by a pin 76 secured within the block and disposed transversely of said slot. The other end portion 77 of the link is secured by a suitable fastening means, such as a pin 78, to one of the vertical plates or wings 47 integral with the door 48, the two end portions of said link being connected by an intermediate offset portion 79. Both of said pins 76, 78 permit rotational movement of the link about the centers of the pins. With such an arrangement, rotation of the shaft 55 with respect to the housing will be transmitted through the link 74 to the vertical plate or wing 47 so as to displace the door from the closed position depicted in FIGURE 7 to the open position illustrated in FIGURE 8. Closure of said door, of course, can be effected by rotation of the shaft 55 in a direction opposite to that of the last mentioned rotational movement.

During such rotation to either the open or closed position of the door, the block 71 is maintained in rotatable slidable contact with the end face 53a of the bushing 53 by a rectangular metallic strip 80 secured to the housing by a suitable fastening means such as a screw 81 and disposed in slidable contact with the said block 71.

It is to be noted that in the closed position of the door, the arcuate notches 51 of the vertical plates or wings 47 normally embrace the disc-like annular portions 69, 61 of the shafts 54, 55, as depicted in FIG- URES 4 and 5, thereby preventing opening of the door. Before such opening can be accomplished, it is necessary to displace the shafts 54, 55 towards each other so as to dispose the disc-like annular portions 60, 61 and the expanded annular portions 56, 57 on either side of the links 74 and to place the reduced cylindrical portions 62, 63 of the shafts 54, 55 directly beneath the said :arcuate notches 51 so as to take the said notches out of embracement with the aforesaid disc-like annular portions 60, 61. In this last described position, the door can be manually swung to the open position previously described and depicted in FIGURE 7.

To accomplish the shaft displacements necessary for the opening of the door, it is preferable to employ a specialized tool which is maintained in the sole possession of authorized personnel, thereby preventing access by other persons to the contents of the coin box closure. This tool is essentially an adjustable C-clamp, generally designated by the numeral 82 and provided with a pair of oppositely disposed jaws, generally designated by the numerals 83, 84, and an intermediate connecting member 85. One of the jaws 83 is provided with a boss 86 which secures a cylindrical extension 87. The latter is seated within a depressed portion 88 of the shaft 54 and is provided with an annular shoulder 89 contactable with the external face 90 of the bushing 52. The diameter of the annular shoulder 89 is less than the diameter of the bore of the bushing 52, thereby permitting axial displacement of the shaft 54 inwardly of the housing, such axial displacement being limited by the face 91 of a second annular shoulder 92 formed upon the cylindrical extension 87.

The other jaw 84- of the clamp is provided with a movable shaft 93 having an end face 94 and a key 95 formed integrally with said end face. A lever 96, provided with a curved end portion 97, is received within an aperture 93 disposed transversely of the axis of said movable shaft 93 and secured therein by a pin 99 disposed through said shaft, aperture and lever. The movable shaft 93 is also joined by shaft coupling means 100 to a shaft member 101. Both shaft 93 and shaft member 101 are slidably retained in a bore 102 formed in a base 83a integral with the connecting member 85 of the clamp. Said shaft member 101 is also provided with a slot 163 which receives a link 104 retained in said slot by a pin 105 extending through said slot and radially of said shaft member. The link 104 also extends into a slot 106 formed in a circular disc 107, said link being maintained in said slot by a pin 1%. The link is pivotab le about each of said pins 105, 108 upon rotation of said circular disc 107 Within another slot 10-9 formed in the jaw 84, said circular disc 107 being pivotably retained in the last-mentioned slot by an axle 110 secured within the jaw 84 and extending transversely through the slot. A rod 111 projects radially of the circumferential periphery of the circular disc 107.

With this arrangement, rotation of the rod 111 in the direction indicated by the arrow adjacent thereto in FIG- URE will force the link 104 to move the shaft member 101 and shaft 93 axially towards the housing in the direction indicated by the arrow superimposed upon said shaft 93 in FIGURE 5. At the same time, the shaft 93 may be rotated about its axis by a movement annularly of said axis by the lever 96, as, for example, in the direction of the arrow adjacent to said lever in FIGURE 9, so as to permit the key 95 formed upon the shaft 93 to be aligned and engaged with a slot 112 formed at the external end face of the shaft '55. The end face of said last-mentioned shaft is also provided with a depressed portion 113 having a depth equal to that of said slot 112 and bounded by arcuate side Walls 114 integral with the shaft 55.

It will be seen from the foregoing that when the key 95 is engaged with the slot 112 and the cylindrical extension 87 is engaged within the depressed portion 88 of the shaft 54, a rotation of the rod 111 will exert pressure on the shafts 54, 55 and springs 65, 66 and thereby move said shafts into the previously described position wherein the vertical plates or Wings 47 and the door 48 integral therewith may be swung outwardly of the housing to an open position. It is noteworthy in this connection that due to the fact that. the springs are of a different compressive strength, the axial movement produced by the pressure of the clamp will be different in the case of each shaft so that the displacement of the reduced cylindrical portions thereof and the corresponding positions of the arcuate notches of the vertical plates or wings will not be equidistant from the walls or the center of the housing. Thus, any unauthorized personnel who attempt only separate, independent depression of the shafts 54, 55 to the, same depth will be made to effect an opening of the door of the coin box closure. Only personnel equipped with a special tool such as the type described above will be able to accomplish an opening of the door in the manner described above. In this latter connection, it is noteworthy that although considerable pressure may be required to depress the shafts 54, 55 and although the key 95 must be accurately aligned with the slot 112, such alignment and pressure is easily accomplished by means of the joint manipulation of the rod 111 and lever 96 in the manner hereinabove described.

Once the opening of the door 48 has been accomplished sothat it occupies the position depicted in FIGURE 10, access may be had to the interior of the tube 33. This tube is provided with an aperture 115 dispose-d directly beneath the open portion of the chamber 27, as may be seen in FIGURE 4. Within the tube 33 there is disposed a small concentric tube 116, one end 117 of which is open and flush with the front end 118 of tube 33. The other end 119 of the tube 116 is provided with a cylindrical cap 120 having a flat portion 120a abutting against the housing and secured thereto, said cap thereby being biased against rotation.

The cap 120 is provided with a pair of bores 121 which receive compression springs 122 biased against depressed portions 123 of slidable cylindrical plungers 124, which extend into a cylindrical plug 125 secured at the upper end of the tube 116, the said plungers being urged against a pair of locating pins 126. Said locating pins are dis posed within a pair of bores 127 formed in the plug 125 and are seated upon annular shoulders 128 provided in said bores 127. The lower portions of the locating pins 126 project below the plug 125 and are provided with conical points 129'.

At the center of the plug 125 a shaft 130- axially extends in rotatable engagement with a portion of the plug and into fixed engagement with the cap 120. The lower end of the shaft 130 terminates at a pair of cams 131, 132 which are disposed in offset relation with respect to each other and project from the lower face of the plug 125. These cams 131, 13 2 are formed as plates provided with upper and lower surfaces 133, 134 parallel to the axis of the tube 116, end faces 135, 136 transverse to said axis and inclined faces 137, 13% intermediate of said inclined faces and upper and lower surfaces.

The entire tube 116 is rotatable with respect to the cap 120 and the tube 33' so as to bring an aperture 139' in tube 116 into alignment with the aperture of the tube 33, this being hereinafter refenred to as the open position of the tube 116, or into a position 'Where the aperture 139 is diametrically opposite to the aperture 115, as depicted in FIGURE 10, this being hereinafter referred to as the closed position of the tube 116, the rotation of the tube 116 being permitted when the locating pins are disposed in a position wherein their upper end portions coincide with the lower face of the cap The closed position of the tube 116 is consistent with closure of the door 4-8, as well as the open position of said door depicted in FIGURE 10. In this closed position of the tube 116, any coins deposited in the slot 26 of the housing Will accumulate in the vicinity of the lower portion of the chamber 27 and above the aperture 115 of tube 38.

When the tube 116 is rotated to its open position, any coins which have accumulated above the aperture 115 will fall into the aperture 139, the two apertures being congruous.

Rotation to the open and closed positions of tube 116 may be accomplished by a novel and ingenious rotating means which is hereinafter described in detail. This rotating meanscomprises an outer conduit 140*, a circular plate 141 secured to the end of the outer conduit 1'40 and transversely slidable cam followers 142, 143 disposed upon pivotable means within the outer conduit 140 and in the vicinity of the circular plate 141.

The circular plate 141 is provided with a pair of flatbottomed bores 144 disposed to receive those portions of the locating pins 126 projecting below the plug and to depress said locating pins to the above-mentioned position wherein said tube 116 may be rotated with respect to said cap. The circular plate 141 is also formed with a pair of slots 145, 146 in which can be received the cams 151, 13 2, the slots 145, 146 being offset, as shown in FIGURE 19, to receive said cams 131, 13 2.

The outer conduit is insertable into the tube 116 so as to bring the flat-bottomed bores 144 into engagement with the locating pins 126. When the outer conduit and its contents are aligned as shown in FIGURE 10 and inserted within the tube 116 into the aforesaid engagement with the locating pins 126, the cams 13 1, 132 will project through the slots 145, 146 into contact with the transversely slidable cam followers 142, 143.

One of these cam followers 142 comprises a plate provided with two projecting portions 147, 148, each of these projecting portions being formed with a surface 149, 150 parallel to the axis of the outer conduit, a surface 151, 152 transverse to said axis and an inclined surface 155, 156, said cam follower 142 also being provided with extensions 157, 158 disposed radially of the axis of the outer conduit. Between said projecting portions 147, 148, there is also disposed a surface 159 extending transversely of the axis of the outer conduit, said surface terminating at the base of each of said projecting portions 147, 148. The other cam follower 143 is also provided with two projecting portions 160, 161, each of these projecting portions being formed with a surface 162, 163 transverse to said axis. The lower projecting portion 160 is also provided with an inclined surface 164 and a surface 165 parallel to the axis of the outer conduit. The upper projecting portion 161 is provided with two inclined surfaces 166, 167. A surface 168 transverse to said axis extends between the upper and lower projecting portions 160, 161 and said cam follower 143 is also provided with two extensions 169, 170 disposed radially of the axis of the outer conduit.

The cam followers 142, 143 are slidably disposed side by side, as appears in FIGURES l3 and 19, the extensions 157, 158, 169, 170 thereon being receivable in channels 171, 172 formed on the internal periphery of a circular collar 173. An end cap 174 is also received within the circular collar 173, said collar being seated against an annular shoulder 175 formed on said end cap 174. A disc-like, axial extension 176 is also provided upon said end cap 174, said axial extension being formed with a flat, sloping portion 177 extending from the base of said axial extension 176 to its circumferential periphcry.

The axial extension 176 is also received within an inner conduit 178, the sloping portion 177 of said axial extension being adjacent to an aperture 179 in the wall of said inner conduit, said aperture being diametrically opposed to a congruous aperture 180 in the wall of the outer conduit 140 when in the position depicted in FIG- URE 10, said apertures 179, 180 being congruous to the above-mentioned apertures 115, 139.

The circular plate 141 is also formed integrally with a cylinder 181 extending axially thereof and provided with a transverse channel 182 into which projects the cam followers 142, 143, the said cylinder 181 being received within the circular collar 173 and fixed in relation to the end cap 174 by means of a pair of pins 183 which project from apertures 184 formed in the face 185 of the end cap 174 and extend into an aperture 186 formed on each side of the transverse channel 184 of cylinder 181.

The outer conduit 140 is also provided with an annular shoulder 187 against which is seated the end face 188 of the circular collar 173. Between the upper end of the outer conduit and its annular shoulder 187 a pair of diametrically opposed channels 189 are provided in the wall of said outer conduit, said channels 189 being aligned with the channels 171, 172 in the circular collar 173 but extending to a depth corresponding with the outside diameter of the inner conduit 178, as seen in FIG- URE 18.

A pair of compression springs 190 is seated within said channels 189 and biased against the outermost surfaces 150, 165 of the cam followers 142, 143 which surfaces are parallel to the axis of the outer conduit. In this way, the radial extensions 157, 170 of the cam followers are forced into the channels 189, as may be seen in FIG- URES 10, 13 and 16. It will be noted that said radial extensions 157, 170 occupy portions of the channels 189 and also portions of the channels 171, 172 when acted upon by the compression springs 190, so that outer conduit is keyed to the circular collar 173, which, in turn, is afiixed to the inner conduit 178.

The lower end of the outer conduit is also provided with a flange 191 adjustably secured upon said conduit by a set screw 192. The face of said flange provided with an annular groove 193 extending through an arc of substantially 180 degrees. The external periphery of the inner conduit is provided with a pin 194 which rides in the annular groove 193 through an arc of 180 degrees.

The lower end of the inner conduit is also provided with a flange 195 upon which is rotatably secured a collar 196 swivelable through 360 degrees, the said collar being permanently secured, as by welding 197 to the reception pipe 198 of a coin storage bag (not shown) of conventional design. A sleeve 199, having an inside diameter corresponding to the inside diameter of the inner conduit, is secured at the upper end of the reception pipe 198 by means of a flange 200 abutting against the upper end of said pipe.

To operate the present invention, the door 48 is opened by means of the adjustable clamp 82 to the position depicted in FIGURE 10, said opening being accomplished in the manner previously described. The outer and inner conduits, in the position shown in FIGURE 10, are then inserted into the tube 116 so as to bring the cam followers 142, 143 into engagement with the cams 131, 132, the inclined surfaces 137, 138 engaging the inclined surfaces 156, 164 of the cam followers so as to force them out of the channels 189 of the outer conduit 140 against the bias of the springs 190 and in the directions indicated by the arrows in FIGURES l3 and 16, said cam followers, however, being retained in the channels 171, 17-2 of the circular collar 173. When so engaged, the projecting portions 147 and 161 of the cam followers make contact with the side surfaces of the cams 131, 132.

The outer conduit is guided into this position by means of a rectangular projection 201 provided upon its external periphery and slidably receivable within a slot 292 formed in the wall of the tube 116. In this position it will be noted that the apertures 115, 139, 179 and 180 occupy the positions depicted in FIGURE 14.

The pin 194 is then adjusted to occupy one end of the l-degree groove 193. The inner and outer conduits may then be rotated 180 degrees so as to align the apertures 115, 139, 179, 139 in the position depicted in FIG- URE 15, thereby permitting any coins which have accumulated in the space above the aperture to fall into the inner conduit and descend rapidly by way of the reception pipe 198 into the coin storage bag, the sloping portion 177 of the axial extension 176 serving to guide the coins into a downward direction within the inner conduit after they pass through the aperture 179, said sloping portion 177 also allowing full utilization of the aperture 179 by said coins by avoiding any blockage of the aperture 179 which would otherwise occur if the axial extension 176 presented a uniform external periphery throughout its entire circumference. The inner and outer conduits may then be rotated back to their initial position, wherein the apertures are disposed as shown in FIGURE 17, and withdrawn from the tube 116. The door 48 is then closed with the aid of the clamp 82 and the housing is then in a position for the further reception of coins.

It will be noted that since conventional coin storage bags do not permit access to their contents except by means of suitable keys or other unlocking devices, any personnel engaged in removing coins from the coin box closure in the aforesaid manner will not have access to such coins and hence to this extent will not be able to misappropriate them for their own purposes.

It will be seen from the foregoing that the invention is easily and simply operated by personnel authorized to have possession of the necessary opening and coin removal equipment, and that such personnel are limited to the proper collection of accumulated coins without being given such direct access thereto as would facilitate theft. Moreover, the invention is simple in design and presents a minimum of maintenance problems.

The embodiment of the invention illustrated and de scribed hereinabove has been selected for the purpose of clearly setting forth the principles involved. 'It will be apparent, however, that the present invention is susceptible to being modified in respect to details of construction, combination and arrangement of parts which may be resorted to without departure from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

We claim:

1. An improved collection means for a coin box comprising in combination a housing, slotted means for introducing coins into a chamber within the housing, an inclined tube secured within said housing and provided with an aperture beneath said chamber and communicating with the lower portion of said chamber, one end of said tube communicating with an aperture in said housing, a second tube rotatably disposed within the aforesaid tube, said second tube being provided with an aperture congruous to the aperture of said first mentioned tube, said second tube being rotatable to a closed position wherein said apertures are disposed in diametrically opposite alignment, means insertable within said second tube, said insertable means being engageable with cam means within said second tube and rotatable therewith to align said congruous apertures in diametrically contiguous positions, said inserta-ble means also being provided with at least one aperture congruous with the aforesaid congruous apertures in said tubes, the aperture of said insertable means being rotatable into adjacent alignment with the diametrically contiguous apertures of the tubes, whereby coins accumulated within the chamber will fall through said apertures into the said insertable means, said cam means including a pair of radially offset plates supported by a plug received within said second tube, said insertable means comprising an outer conduit provided with a circular plate secured to the end of said outer conduit, said circular plate being formed with a plurality of bores engageable with a plurality of springably supported locating pins projecting from said plug, said circular plate also being provided with a plurality of apertures wherein said radially ofiset plates are receivable, said outer conduit being slidably engaged with a concentric inner conduit provided with a circular collar, said circular collar being formed with a pair of diametrically opposed keyways which slidably receive two cam followers disposed transversely of said collar and springably supported in a pair of diametrically opposed channels formed on the inner periphery of the outer conduit, said cam followers being engageable with said radially offset plates when said bores are engaged with said locating pins and said offset plates are received within the apertures of said circular plate, whereby said cam followers are displaced from said diametrically opposed channels to permit rotation of said inner conduit with respect to said outer conduit to align a pair of congruous apertures formed in said inner and outer conduits, said inner and outer conduits also 'being rotatable to align said pair of congruous apertures with the said diametrically contiguous apertures of the tubes.

2. A device according to claim 1, said inner conduit being provided with a disc-like axial extension in supporting contact with said circular collar, said axial extension also being provided with a pair of axially parallel pins engageable with a pair of axially parallel bores formed in a cylindrical extension of said circular plate, said cylindrical extension also being formed with a transverse groove wherein said cam followers are slidably received.

3. A device according to claim 1, said outer conduit being provided with a flange having a face formed with a groove extending through an arc of substantially degrees, said inner conduit projecting from within said outer conduit and communicating with a rotatable pipe provided with a pin slidably received in said groove, whereby said inner conduit may be rotatable through an arc of 180 degrees to selectively align said congruous apertures in said outer and inner conduits and said tubes.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,277,916 Klemt Mar. 21, 1942 2,322,040 Maruri June 15, 1943 2,430,384 Broussard Nov. 4, 1947 2,465,146 Broussard Mar. 22, 1949 2,536,891 Sharp Jan. 2, 1951 2,613,871 Broussard et al. Oct. 14, 1952 2,618,371 Broussard Nov. 18, 1952 2,726,825 Ziskin et al. Dec. 13, 1955 2,779,535 Jones Jan. 27, 1957 2,802,621 Woodruff Aug. 13, 1957 2,810,824 Kaufman Oct. 22, 1957 2,815,166 Sollenberger Dec. 3, 1957 2,828,908 Arzig Apr. 1, 1958 2,869,777 Share Jan. 20, 1959 

1. AN IMPROVED COLLECTION MEANS FOR A COIN BOX COMPRISING IN COMBINATION A HOUSING, SLOTTED MEANS FOR INTRODUCING COINS INTO A CHAMBER WITHIN THE HOUSING, AN INCLINED TUBE SECURED WITHIN SAID HOUSING AND PROVIDED WITH AN APERTURE BENEATH SAID CHAMBER AND COMMUNICATING WITH THE LOWER PORTION OF SAID CHAMBER, ONE END OF SAID TUBE COMMUNICATING WITH AN APERTURE IN SAID HOUSING, A SECOND TUBE ROTATABLY DISPOSED WITHIN THE AFORESAID TUBE, SAID SECOND TUBE BEING PROVIDED WITH AN APERTURE CONGRUOUS TO THE APERTURE OF SAID FIRST MENTIONED TUBE, SAID SECOND TUBE BEING ROTATABLE TO A CLOSED POSITION WHEREIN SAID APERTURES ARE DISPOSED IN DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSITE ALIGNMENT, MEANS INSERTABLE WITHIN SAID SECOND TUBE, SAID INSERTABLE MEANS BEING ENGAGEABLE WITH CAM MEANS WITHIN SAID SECOND TUBE AND ROTATABLE THEREWITH TO ALIGN SAID CONGRUOUS APERTURES IN DIAMETRICALLY CONTIGUOUS POSITIONS, SAID INSERTABLE MEANS ALSO BEING PROVIDED WITH AT LEAST ONE APERTURE CONGRUOUS WITH THE AFORESAID CONGRUOUS APERTURES IN SAID TUBES, THE APERTURE OF SAID INSERTABLE MEANS BEING ROTATABLE INTO ADJACENT ALIGNMENT WITH THE DIAMETRICALLY CONTIGUOUS APERTURES OF THE TUBES, WHEREBY COINS ACCUMULATED WITHIN THE CHAMBER WILL FALL THROUGH SAID APERTURES INTO THE SAID INSERTABLE MEANS, SAID CAM MEANS INCLUDING A PAIR OF RADIALLY OFFSET PLATES SUPPORTED BY A PLUG RECEIVED WITHIN SAID SECOND TUBE, SAID INSERTABLE MEANS COMPRISING AN OUTER CONDUIT PROVIDED WITH A CIRCULAR PLATE SECURED TO THE END OF SAID OUTER CONDUIT, SAID CIRCULAR PLATE BEING FORMED WITH A PLURALITY OF BORES ENGAGEABLE WITH A PLURALITY OF SPRINGABLY SUPPORTED LOCATING PINS PROJECTING FROM SAID PLUG, SAID CIRCULAR PLATE ALSO BEING PROVIDED WITH A PLURALITY OF APERTURES WHEREIN SAID RADIALLY OFFSET PLATES ARE RECEIVABLE, SAID OUTER CONDUIT BEING SLIDABLY ENGAGED WITH A CONCENTRIC INNER CONDUIT PROVIDED WITH A CIRCULAR COLLAR, SAID CIRCULAR COLLAR BEING FORMED WITH A PAIR OF DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSED KEYWAYS WHICH SLIDABLY RECEIVE TWO CAM FOLLOWERS DISPOSED TRANSVERSELY OF SAID COLLAR AND SPRINGABLY SUPPORTED IN A PAIR OF DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSED CHANNELS FORMED ON THE INNER PERIPHERY OF THE OUTER CONDUIT, SAID CAM FOLLOWERS BEING ENGAGEABLE WITH SAID RADIALLY OFFSET PLATES WHEN SAID BORES ARE ENGAGED WITH SAID LOCATING PINS AND SAID OFFSET PLATES ARE RECEIVED WITHIN THE APERTURES OF SAID CIRCULAR PLATE, WHEREBY SAID CAM FOLLOWERS ARE DISPLACED FROM SAID DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSED CHANNELS TO PERMIT ROTATION OF SAID INNER CONDUIT WITH RESPECT TO SAID OUTER CONDUIT TO ALIGN A PAIR OF CONGRUOUS APERTURES FORMED IN SAID INNER AND OUTER CONDUITS, SAID INNER AND OUTER CONDUITS ALSO BEING ROTATABLE TO ALIGN SAID PAIR OF CONGRUOUS APERTURES WITH THE SAID DIAMETRICALLY CONTIGUOUS APERTURES OF THE TUBES. 